Fort Collins, CO — Suehiro

Suehiro 223 Linden St Fort Collins, CO

(970)482-3734 map

When I asked my my colleagues for a sushi bar recommendation the unanimous response was that I should try Suehiro. Suehiro is in Fort Collins' trendy Old Town district. Old Town is home to a bohemian collection of art galleries, antique stores and restaurants. Suehiro is located in a nicely renovated storefront across the way from a nature photography gallery.

Even on a Tuesday night, Suehiro was packed. Fort Collins is a college town and the crowd was definitely young. When I was seated I asked about Giant Clam. My waitress had no idea what it was and had to ask one of the sushi chefs. Giant Clam is not normally on their menu and they did not have any that night. I finally settled on an order of Gyoza (pork dumplings) with a selection of nigiri and a roll. My nigiri choices were tuna, surf clam, mackerel and scallop. I also ordered a Rock n Roll which at Suehiro is essentially a Philadelphia roll with salmon, cream cheese and avocado.

As a nice touch my a la carte order came with Miso soup and a cucumber and vinegar salad. The cucumber salad was excellent but I found the Miso soup to be extremely salty. When my gyoza arrived it looked really good. The gyoza came on a plate with a special section for sauce. But something didn't look quite right. Gyoza usually comes with a dipping sauce of soy sauce and vinegar. The sauce that I received, looked like it had seeds in it and looked somewhat red. Curious, I dipped my chopstick in the sauce and had a tiny taste. I had to quickly down some water — the sauce was hot! Not warm but hot pepper hot. I like hot foods as much as the next guy but this was way too much and worse I don't recall the menu warning about the sauce. I am glad I didn't just dip a piece in the sauce.

After the gyoza it was no surprise that at Suehiro even the sushi was hot. Some sushi places place a bit of wasabi between the sushi rice and the fish. The tuna and surf clam both had quite a bit of wasabi on them. Fortunately the scallop and mackerel did not. Personally I like a little bit of wasabi but Suehiro put it on too strong.

Overall I was happy with the nigiri, the fish was fresh and firm. Saba (mackerel) is normally marinated in vinegar I often find the vinegar taste too strong. At Suehiro the mackerel was excellent without too much vinegar.

The Rock n Roll was disappointing. The pieces were inconsistent in size and the amount of fish, cream cheese and avocado varied dramatically from piece to piece. The roll was mainly rice with a tiny sliver of each ingredient. The presentation was lackluster at best. My order was placed haphazardly on a plate that was much to large.

Service at Suehiro was prompt and attentive. I know that some sushi fans like things hot, if you do you will find little to complain about at Suehiro.

Suehiro: 3 rice bowls